Moonlight

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle. I snuck along the side of the wooden staircase, wishing my loose jeans didn't rustle quite so loudly. My best friend, Sofia, was doing the same on the other side of the stairs. We heard the creak that the top step that Sofia's house always made, and decided to pounce. 

  “BOO!”

Sofia and I jumped out from behind the stairs, only to find her dad staring at us with an expression that said, “Oh my gosh what are you doing?!” 

“Sorry,” we mumbled. “I guess we should look before we leap.”

“Yes, definitely,” he agreed.

He said something else, but it was drowned out by the abundance of rustling as we crept back to our hiding spot. Creak. Sofia and I exchanged nervous glances, wondering if we really should look before we leap. We nodded and decided to go for it.  

“HI!!!”

Layla's stunned expression was priceless, a mix of fear, confusion, and surprise, but it quickly melted into a giggle when she saw our silly smiles. This was going to be the best sleepover ever! We set up camp in the basement, arguing about who got to sleep on the couch. Sofia immediately ranked one spot, because we were at her house. “Owners privilege,” she had declared. 

I heard something creak and flicked their ears with my finger. 

“Come on guys, listen! Do you hear that?” 

“Uh, No,” Sofia remarked, smirking. “I think Kendra is hearing things again,” she stage-whispered to Layla. I rolled my eyes at both of them.  

“Seriously. Listen!”   

Tap tap.

Scritch scratch.

“You're right,” they admit. This time, it was my turn to smirk. 

“Of course I am.” I playfully poked them in the shoulder and dragged them up the stairs. I opened the door to find a gray cat and its only kitten, a dark black blob of fur with a tuft of white on her tail. The mother was drenched and shaking, the kitten barely breathing. I scooped them up and ordered my friends to grab towels and water. I didn't exactly know what to do with a shivering kitten and a soggy mamma cat. I tried dabbing them with the towels, but it wasn't helping. I settled on wrapping them each in a huge towel, hoping the extra body heat would keep them warm. 

“Tele mon katt uo nam, ae torsy”

I glanced over to see Layla talking to the grayish cat. She looked at me and flushed. 

“I was asking her name and story,” she said as if it were the most normal thing ever. 

My jaw dropped. “You never said you were fluent in cat!” I exclaimed. “I can only say basic things, and so can Sofia.” 

She smiled. “I've been practicing.” 

The cat cocked her head and said, “My name is Blueberry, and I speak some English. The kitten's name is Moonlight.” 

“Huh, that reminds me of Moonlight Sonata,” I interrupted.

Layla smiled. “Only you would think of music at a time like this.”

Sofia shuffled closer, giving her a pat on the head. “Are you a Russian Blue?” 

“Yes, and by the way, you can call me Blue.” She cocked her head again and began telling her story. 

“I used to live in a small cottage down the road, with an old couple taking care of me.

One of my good neighborhood cat friends recently had a kitten.” She paused to pull the kitten's head out of the towels a little.
“My owners found him on their doorstep, and I begged them to let me care for him. That was four days ago. Then, just yesterday, our owners just disappeared. No notice. No extra food for us. No love.” Her eyes welled up with tears, but she continued. “There wasn't much food in the bowl, and we quickly ate it all. The hunger was too great to bear, and when we heard from another cat that some nice friends were up the street, I decided to come to your place.”

Everyone stared at her. 

  “The End,” she added.

“Wow,” I said. “Just wow.”

Layla spoke up first. “We should go searching!”

“Sure,” Layla and I agreed. “It's only 2:30!”

“Wait,” said Sofia. “What if my parents check on us and find out that we are missing?”

“It's fine,” I replied. “We can just tell them that we went on a short walk. Like Alden from Keeper of the Lost Cities would say, ‘No reason to worry.’”

“Fiiine,” Sofia huffed. 

We put on our shoes and trotted out the door. The pleasant 70-degree weather felt like a tepid bath. We started walking, not knowing where we were going. Thankfully, Blue guided us to her house, only stopping a couple of times to make sure the kitten was securely on her back. When we got there, she nudged us toward the small brass key hidden in the windowsill. 

“Head in.” 

I twisted the key in the keyhole and stepped onto a tattered blue welcome mat. The room was dimly lit by a small desk lamp near the door. My eyes traced every object in the room, coming to rest on two figures sitting on a faded gray couch in the middle of the room.
Everyone scrambled back.

“I’m so sorry Mr. and Mrs….” I trailed off not knowing what I was talking about. 

“Sallow,” they interrupted. “You can call us the Sallows.”

 “Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Sallow. Your cat told us that you were missing,” I reported.

My friends and I confronted Blue and her kitten, who looked perfectly fine now. “Why did you lie to us??” Sofia had to know. “We trusted you!”

Blue hopped next to Mrs. Sallow, licking her forearm. 

“I didn't lie,” She corrected. “I tested you.” She did the closest thing to a smile that a cat could do. “You passed with flying colors. You were willing to help someone in need, even if they weren't your species. You showed courage and bravery, even if there was the possibility of getting in trouble.”

Mrs. Sallow showed us three necklaces. “These were handed to me by my grandmother, who got them from her grandmother, but we didn't have any grandchildren to pass them on to.” “It was Blue’s idea to test you.” Mrs. Sallow winked. All eyes went to The Russian Blue sitting on the couch. “I know,” Blue said. “I’m brilliant.” Mrs. Sallow rolled her eyes before turning back to the children. “You truly deserve these necklaces,” she murmured. Sofia’s was sparkling amethysts, Layla’s was rich sapphire, and mine was pale opal. We thanked them and headed home, our hearts light, our heads clear of worries.  “See?” I said, when we got back to her house and all was quiet. “Like I said, ‘No reason to worry’.”